House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Monday called on Democrats to “do something” about antisemitic remarks being made by members of their caucus, The Hill reports. His comments came after Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) called Israel a “racist state” , before walking back the comments and stating that she had directed them at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Asked about Jayapal’s comments, which were made during a progressive conference on Saturday, McCarthy noted Democrats who have come under fire in the past for making antisemitic remarks and said “this isn’t the first person in the Democratic conference that has continued to make antisemitic comments.” “We’ve watched what they have continually to do,” he continued, according to The Hill . “There are a number of them over there. I think if the Democrats want to believe that they do not have a conference that continues to make antisemitic remarks, they need to do something about it.” He called on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to “prove” that Democrats are not antisemitic. “I think this is a role for the leader, Hakeem, to prove that no, they’re not antisemitic,” McCarthy said. “And they cannot allow their members to continue to see what they have said in the past.” Jayapal’s comments sparked criticism from both sides of the aisle, which included a rare joint statement from House Democratic leadership that said “Israel is not a racist state” and underscored the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem, all without naming Jayapal. McCarthy, in his remarks, cited previous antisemitic remarks made by Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and who was removed from the Foreign Affairs Committee in February over those comments. He also read off past antisemitic comments from Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and cited a resolution introduced by Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN) in 2021 to condemn Israel’s decision to designate Palestinian Arab human rights and civil society groups as “terrorist organizations.” “These are just multiple Democrats on multiple times consistently saying antisemitic remarks and it has got to stop,” McCarthy said. “These are all individuals in the Democratic conference. Do they think Israel is an evil state? Well if they believe differently they should take action against their own for the comments coming from their leadership within their own Democratic Party, and that’s wrong.” Related articles: Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy announces retirement US House of Representatives vote to oust Speaker McCarthy Rep. Matt Gaetz moves to oust House Speaker McCarthy Congress passes emergency bill to avoid shutdown The comments come ahead of President Isaac Herzog’s visit to the US, where he will address a joint session of Congress. Several Democrats have already announced that they will boycott Herzog’s speech. Omar , who was the first to announce a boycott, and Tlaib are among them. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have also announced they will not attend Herzog’s speech.
